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NEW  YORK 
JAMES   POTT   &    CO. 

114    Fifth    Avenue. 
1895 


i^&ifV-   -- 


Copyright,  1894J 
By 
JAMES  POTT  &.  CO. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

AUG  7-1934 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
THE   TALE 

C  OF 

S        TWO  ROSES. 

1/5  Without  the  gates  of  a  large  city  where 
'^  lived  many  people,  rich  and  poor,  there 
resided  a  gardener  who  owned  a  large, 
magnificent  rose-garden.  There  grew  roses 
of  all  colors  and  kinds;  for  the  gardener 
understood  his  business,  and  he  tended  and 
cherished  the  roses  with  much  skill  and 
care ;  not  from  love  of  the  flowers  them- 
selves, but  for  the  profit,  as  he  sold  them  to 
the  people  in  the  town. 

And  his  industry  bore  rich  fruit ;  for  many 

came  to  purchase  the  roses  to  plant  in  their 

gardens,  and  decorate  their  rooms,  but  only 

^,  the  rich,  for  the  gardener  charged  much  for 

^  "  ^<\  the  flowers,  and  the  poor  could  not  afford 

^i^  them. 

■M  One  day  when  the  Sun  had  brought  his 

^  beloved  child,  the  Summer,  that  she  might 

walk  on  earth  and  fill  everything  with  joy, 

:v  there  had  bloomed  in    the    midst    of  the 

:  garden  two  roses,  more  beautiful  than  all 

^  else  therein. 

They  grew    upon    separate   bushes,  but 


883684 


4  The  Tale  of  Two  Bos'es. 

stood  so  near  to  each  other  that  they  almost 
touched  when  their  heads  drooped  even  a 
little. 

Hence  it  came  that  the  two  roses  became 
great  friends,  said  "  thou "  to  each  otlier 
and,  although  they  did  not  resemble  each 
other,  for  one  liad  tender,  yellowish  petals, 
with  a  reddish  calyx,  and  the  other  was 
as  white  as  snow  from  the  outside  to 
the  heart,  yet  they  considered  themselves 
sisters,  and  confided  all  their  secrets  to  one 
another.  And  as  they  did  so  tliere  went 
from  their  lips  so  sweet  a  perfume  that  the 
entire  garden  swam  in  a  sea  of  fragrance ; 
and  their  caresses  were  so  lovely  to  behold, 
the  little  beetles  who  busily  ran  from  side 
to  side  stopped,  and  nudging  each  other 
said,  "  Look,  the  roses  are  whispering  secrets 
again !     What  may  they  be  about  ?  " 

But  the  roses  were  talking  about  their 
future  ;  for,  since  they  were  quite  young  as 
yet,  they  had  no  past  and  could  not  converse 
about  that ;  they  much  preferred  talking 
about  the  future,  for  that  consisted  of  noth- 
ing but  delicious  dreams. 

That  they  were  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
whole  garden  they  already  knew.  They 
found  it  out  from  the  admiring  glances 
which  the  gardener  cast  upon  them,  from 
the  words  of  the  passing  visitors,  and  felt 
it  every  morning  when  the  morning  wind 
rushed  into  the  garden,  swept  away  the  night 
and  touched  the  hearts  of  the  roses  all  around 
so  that  they  bowed  in  admiration.    That 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  5 

always  seemed  like  a  homage  from  the  entire 
garden. 

Thus  it  may  be  understood  that  the  two 
roses,  although  at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts 
they  were  good  and  kind  as  roses  always 
are,  became  a  little  proud,  and  made  great 
pretensions  as  to  their  future. 

It  was  to  be  only  a  King,  a  Prince,  or  at 
least  some  one  immensely  rich,  who  would 
some  day  buy  them  and  take  them  home. 
They  agreed  upon  that,  and  their  only  care 
was  that  then  they  would  be  separated,  and 
carried  one  here  and  the  other  there.  That 
was  a  gr^t  grief,  for  they  loved  each  other 
very  much ;  and  when  the  thought  occurred 
to  them  they  wept  each  a  large  tear  which 
lay,  when  the  daylight  came,  like  a  shining 
drop  in  their  calyx,  and  was  most  beautiful 
to  behold. 

Yes,  that  was  so  lovely  that  the  Morning 
Wind,  who  had  travelled  far  around  the 
country,  and  was  therefore  a  connoisseur  of 
flower-beauty,  stopped  before  them  full  of 
astonishment,  and  bowing  said,  "To  true 
beauty  everything  is  becoming,  even  grief." 

And  the  sister  roses  smiled  kindly  on  him 
and  replied,  "  Oh,  what  a  charming  young 
man  you  are,  dear  Mr.  Morning  Wind,  since 
you  can  compliment  so  pleasantly  thus 
early."  Therteupon  the  Morning  Wind  took 
up  his  coat-tails  and  flew  away  much 
flattered. 

Thus  the  days  passed,  and  very  many 
visitors  and  buyers  came  to  the  garden; 


jF*^  --i^^'^  -x.-r  r.j_:  ■:'t:'--',  r^'-:i:-r.''-    -^  y:-,-  '  r^  i.^.;^*;V^;' '   ^r.  ■  .;^  *..=:%!■:.■-,  ■-.-■-■■■-.^     ■'~'-*-.^:'^-''''^y^yT-'^^ 


I 


6  TAe  Tale  of  Two  Moses. 

but  for  the  roses  no  purchaser  had  been 
fouud.  It  seemed  as  though  every  one 
knew  they  were  destined  for  something  ex- 
traordinary. But  it  came  to  pass  one 
beautiful  summer  afternoon,  toward  even- 
ing, tliat  a  splendid  open  carriage  rolled 
along  and  stopped  before  the  garden  door. 
The  two  roses  could  look  down  the  broad 
walk  through  the  railing ;  and,  as  they  saw 
the  carriage  in  front  of  it,  their  hearts 
thrilled  as  if  with  a  presentiment  that  that 
meant  something  for  them;  and  they  put 
their  cheeks  together  and  whispered  to  each 
other  their  thoughts. 

On  the  box  of  the  carriage  sat  the  coach- 
man, and  by  his  side  the  footman,  both  with 
hats  and  coats  trimmed  with  broad  gold 
braid ;  and  the  roses,  as  yet  inexperienced  in 
worldly  matters,  thought  that  these  must 
be  the  persons  of  importance.  But  a  little 
Corn-beetle,  who  had  lived  a  long  time  in 
palatial  mansions,  and  once  had  even  sat 
upon  the  hand  of  a  real  princess,  came  fly- 
ing through  the  air  at  that  moment,  and, 
hearing  their  conversation,  said,  "  Not  so, 
those  are  only  servants  upon  the  box:  the 
persons  of  importance  are  seated  in  the 
carriage :  watch  them." 

Then  the  roses  opened  wide  their  eyes, 
but  were  not  much  pleased  Avith  those  thej' 
saw ;  for  one  was  a  lady  who  was  no  longer 
young  and  pretty,  and  the  other  a  gentleman 
who  indeed  had  a  fine  black  beard,  but  no 
space  on  his  face  to  display  it  to  advantage. 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  7 

As  they  exchanged  their  remarks  the  little 
Corn-beetle  said,  "You  two  do  not  under- 
stand anything  at  all  about  the  world.  Don't 
vou  know  that  is  the  richest  banker  in  the 
entire  town,  and  that  the  lady  is  his  wife : 
why  should  rich  people  wish  to  be  pretty  ? 
That  they  leave  to  the  poor  who  have  noth- 
ing else."  The  roses  were  much  ashamed 
at  their  ignorance,  and  blushed  a  little  in 
their  embarrassment;  and  that  was  very 
becoming  to  them. 

Meanwhile,  the  gentleman  and  the  lady 
had  left  the  carriage,  and  there  climbed  down 
a  little  dog  which  had  silver- white  hair,  and 
was  so  round  that  it  could  only  waddle  quite 
slowly  and  from  time  to  time  bark  a  little, 
as  if  it  cried,  "  Go  away  !  away !  away ! " 

The  gardener  stood  at  the  gate,  hat  in 
hand,  and  made  a  low  deep  bow.  The 
gentleman  nodded  to  him  slightly,  but  the 
lady  passed  him  by  and  looked  into  the  air. 
As  the  little  Corn-beetle  perceived  this,  it 
called  to  the  roses,  "  There  you  can  learn 
something.  See  how  rich  people  must  act ; 
that  lady  understands  how  to  be  rich." 
The  roses  were  again  ashamed  of  their  bad 
taste,  for  in  truth  they  had  not  liked  it 
at  all.  The  visitors  came  up  the  broad  path 
toward  the  spot  where  the  roses  stood,  and 
at  every  step  the  lady's  silk  dress  rustled 
and  crackled  as  though  saying  to  all  Nature 
round  about,  "  Look,  look,  I  am  from  Paris, 
I  am  from  Paris  ! " 

Meanwhile  the  gardener  walked  behind 


-  ...■  'A.  .^"'S' ■  *t  J  ■■ij..i*^-:';fcil«-^-.':i'-A ".  J£^iaK- 


8  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 

them,  hat  in  hand,  pointing  to  the  right  and 
to  the  left,  now  at  this  rose-busli  and  now  at 
that,  and  the  hxdy  stopped  from  time  to  time, 
and  lifted  to  her  eyes  the  glass  which  hung 
around  her  neck  by  a  gold  chain ;  and,  as  the 
gardener  most  eagerly  praised  his  roses,  she 
pouted  a  little  and  said,  "  That  all  amounts  to 
n(5thing."  The  gardener  then  appeared  quite 
miserable,  and  the  little  white  dog  barked  as 
if  saying,  "  Fool,  fool,"  while  the  banker 
nodded  his  head  to  the  gardener  and  said, 
"  My  wife  likes  only  the  very  best." 

Meanwhile  they  had  come  up  to  the  two 
roses,  who  looked  toward  them  with  wide- 
opened  eyes,  and  so  attracted  the  lady  that 
she  stopped  of  her  own  accord,  lifted  her 
glasses  to  her  eyes,  and  regarded  them  very 
closely.  But  the  roses,  when  they  perceived 
her  glances,  bowed  their  heads  in  shy  bash- 
fulness,  and  a  quiver  of  shame  flew  over 
their  bodies  and  made  their  bosoms  swell. 
And,  as  they  stood  there  with  their  heads 
humbly  lowered,  they  were  more  beautiful, 
than  ever  before ;  so  beautiful  that  even  the 
lady  could  not  remain  indifferent  to  their 
charms,  and  signified  her  pleasure  by  say- 
ing, "  Possibly  that  might  be  something  for 
me." 

Her  husband,  perceiving  that  he  too  might 
be  allowed  to  say  something,  added  quickly, 
"Indeed,  yes,  two  magnificent  specimens: 
what  will  they  cost?" 

Whereupon  the  gardener  named  a  sum 
so  large  that  the  lady  was  quite  astonished 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  9 

and  put  her  hands  to  her  ears,  while  her 
husband  said,  "  Indeed,  that  is  a  very  high 
price."  "  Besides,  I  only  speak  of  the  yellow 
one,"  continued  the  lady,  "  for  the  white  one 
I  have  no  use,  but  the  yellow  might  be  some- 
thing for  my  tea-roses."  "Indeed,"  added 
the  husband, "  that  was  also  my  idea ;  it  woi^d 
be  an  addition  to  your  collection  of  tea-roses." 
And,  turning  to  the  gardener,  he  explained 
that  his  wife  had  the  finest  collection  of  tea- 
roses  in  the  entire  city. 

Thus  the  bargain  was  made ;  and,  having 
arranged  that  the  next  day  their  own  gar- 
dener should  come  and  get  the  yellow  rose- 
bush, the  gentleman,  with  the  lady  and  the 
little  white  dog,  entered  their  magnificent 
carriage  and  drove  away. 

When  the  roses  were  alone  again  they 
grew  very  sad ;  for  they  knew  that  the  hour 
had  struck  when  they  were  to  part,  probably 
for  their  whole  lives  ;  and  they  laid  their 
cheeks  together  and  wept,  one  into  the  heart 
of  the  other.  And  the  white  rose  said  to 
her  sister,  in  a  low  whisper,  "Oh,  you 
blessed  one !  Oh,  you  blessed  one  !  Shall  I 
too  meet  with  such  a  splendid  lot  as  thine  ?  " 

And  quite  deep  in  the  bottom  of  her  tender 
heart  there  arose  a  bitter  drop  of  envy ;  for 
the  fate  of  her  sister  appeared  most  enticing, 
and  she  had  to  confess  to  herself  that  she 
had  been  found  less  beautiful  than  the  yellow 
rose. 

Thus  stood  the  roses  so  entirely  absorbed 
with  each  other  that  thev  did  not  notice 


St*^  V  .     .       --^  =     ■  •>.-  ■■'       -r;  .  ■.    ■   ^   ■     -..      ■-         -    >■  'v  *"-=^;,''>??y 


10  The  Tale  of  Tvo  Bases. 

that  other  visitors  had  arrived  and  were 
looking  at  them.  It  was  only  when  they 
heard  childish  voices  crying,  "Oh,  father, 
father,  the  white  one ;  she  is  so  beautiful ! " 
that  they  looked  up  and  saw  standing  before 
them  a  man  who  held  by  one  hand  a  little 
boy,  and  by  the  other  a  little  girl. 

They  were  the  children  who  had  been 
speaking,  and  they  all  looked  at  the  white" 
rose  with  admiring  eyes.  But  the  latter  did 
not  rejoice  in  the  least,  for  the  man  looked 
quite  different  from  the  rich  gentleman  ; 
he  wore  a  threadbare  coat  and  a  well-worn 
hat,  and  the  two  children  were  most  poorly 
dressed.  Therefore  it  did  not  flatter  her  in 
the  least  that  she  should  meet  the  approval 
of  these  poor  people  after  being  rejected  by 
the  rich.  So  quite  spitefully  she  turned 
aside  her  little  head  as  if  to  say,  "  Go  along, 
I  am  not  for  you." 

Such  seemed  also  to  be  the  thoughts  of 
the  gardener,  who  looked  quite  astonished 
when  he  returned  from  the  garden  gate  and 
saw  the  three  standing  before  his  finest 
flowers.  But  the  white  rose  could  scarcely 
trust  her  ears  when  she  heard  the  man 
inquire  the  price  of  the  bush.  True,  he  did 
so  quite  bashfully,  but  still  he  actually  did 
so,  and  that  appeared  to  the  rose  like 
an  unheard-of  boldness.  However  she  tri- 
umphed in  her  heart  when  she  heard  the 
tremendous  price  which  the  gardener  named 
and  saw  the  sad  expression  of  the  man. 
Put    the    children    drew   nearer   to    their 


I 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  11 

father,  and  the  little  boy  cried  quite  be- 
seechingly, "  Oh,  dear  father,  please  do  buy 
the  beautiful  rose ; "  and  the  girl  added, 
"Only  think,  dear  father,  how  delighted 
mamma  will  be  when  you  brhig  the  rose 
home  to  her."  Then  it  happened  for  the 
first  time  that  something  quite  bad  stirred 
the  heart  of  the  white  rose,  for  she  became 
bitterly  angry  with  the  two  children  and 
would  most  gladly  have  stung  them  with 
her  thorns. 

Now  the  poor  shoemaker,  for  that  was 
the  man's  business,  looked  silently  at  the 
children  and  drew  figures  in  the  sand  with 
his  stick,  as  if  calculating  something.  At 
last  turning  to  the  gardener  he  said,  as  if  to 
excuse  his  boldness,  "  My  wife  has  been  very 
ill,  and  is  only  now  getting  a  little  better. 
I  should  have  liked  to  give  her  a  surprise ; 
and  since  she  loves  roses  so  very  much, 
especially  white  ones,  I  thought ^" 

"  But  I  can  not  make  any  reduction," 
interrupted  the  gardener,  and  the  white 
rose  said  to  herself,  "That's  right,  that's 
right." 

Both  the  children  looked  up  to  their 
father  silently  and  anxiously,  and  the 
father  thought  it  over,  and  drew  out  his 
pocket-book,  and  counted,  and  counted, 
while  the  white  rose  trembled  from  her 
roots  to  her  head  in  mute,  bitter  anguish. 
Suddenly  she  felt  as  if  the  hail  was  beating 
down  upon  her,  and  she  was  fainting  away, 
when  she  heard  the  shoemaker  say,  "  Well, 


12  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 

it  is  indeed  very  much  money — but  let  it  be 
— I  will  take  the  rose-bush." 

Thereupon  she  put  her  arm  around  her 
sister's  neck,  and  wept  and  resisted ;  but 
her  anger  and  despair  only  made  her  the 
more  beautiful,  and  the  children  clapped 
their  hands  in  glee,  and  her  resistance  was 
vain. 

The  gardener  received  his  money,  and 
then  dug  the  bush  out  of  the  soil ;  and, 
shuddering  and  trembling,  the  white  rose 
was  given  into  the  hands  of  the  shoemaker, 
who  carried  her  away  forever  from  her 
beautiful  sister,  who  was  so  happy,  oh,  so 
much  happier  than  she. 

The  following  day  the  yellow  rose  was 
taken,  as  had  been  agreed  upon,  by  the 
banker's  gardener ;  and  she  looked  as  proud 
and  happy  as  a  princess  who  is  taken  in 
marriage  by  a  young  king. 

And  she  had  indeed  every  cause  to  be 
cheerful,  for  her  new  home  was  very  beauti- 
ful. The  banker's  house  was  situated  in 
the  suburbs  of  the  town  where  only  rich 
people  lived  and  in  the  street  where  resided 
only  the  richest  of  the  rich.  The  street  was 
indeed  so  exclusive  that  even  the  horses 
stepped  softly  in  passing  through,  so  as  not 
to  disturb  the  repose  of  the  inhabitants. 
And  in  the  houses  were  piled  such  treasures 
that  the  air  was  filled  with  gold  dust ;  and 
the  sparrows,  when  they  flew  through  the 
street,  issued  from  it  with  gilded  tails. 

Before  the  house,  towards  the  street,  there 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  13 

■was  a  small  garden  with  yellowish  walks, 
visible  through  an  artistically  wrought  iron 
grating.  The  large  garden  was  situated 
behind  the  house,  surrounded  by  a  high 
brick  wall  so  that  nobody  could  obtain  a 
view  of  it. 

This  was  the  new  home  of  the  yellow 
rose ;  and,  upon  entering  the  garden,  she 
at  once  perceived  that  she  had  been  intro- 
duced into  most  aristocratic  society.  In 
the  garden  were  many  flower-beds ;  but 
the  one  in  the  midst,  a  large  circular  bed, 
was  the  most  select  in  the  whole  garden, 
and  there  stood  a  group  of  rose  bushes : 
only  yellow,  yellowish,  greenish  yellow,  and 
reddish  yellow  roses.  That  was  the  collec- 
tion of  tea-roses  of  which  the  rich  gentleman 
had  spoken  yesterday.  And  to  this  spot 
turned  the  gardener  who  carried  the  yellow 
rose. 

Then  it  came  to  pass,  for  the  first  time, 
that  something  quite  wicked  stirred  the 
heart  of  the  yellow  rose ;  for,  when  she  per- 
ceived that  all  the  flowers  put  their  heads 
together,  and  looked  at  her,  and  nudged 
each  other  and  called  attention  to  the  new 
inhabitant  of  the  bed,  an  "immense  vanity 
arose  in  her  and  casting  proud  glances  about 
her,  she  thought,  "  What  are  you  all  com- 
pared to  me?"  But  her  pride  subsided  a 
little,  and  she  even  became  quite  embar- 
rassed when  she  had  reached  the  centre  of 
the  bed  and  received  her  place  there ;  for, 
as  with  curious  glances  the    other  roses 


14  The  Tale  of  Two  Eoses. 

looked,  she  felt  as  if  their  glances  were 
searching  the  depths  of  her  heart,  and  the 
whispering  and  humming  of  the  many  voices 
almost  stunned  her. 

Of  course  she  was  the  subject  of  all  these 
observations,  and  from  time  to  time  she 
caught  a  word  of  the  conversation. 

"  Another  new  one,  did  you  find  that  we 
had  too  much  space  here  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,  it  is  becoming  very 
crowded."  "I  should  like  to  know  what 
our  gracious  lady  is  thinking  of."  "  Prob- 
ably we  are  no  longer  pretty  enough  for 
her."  "  Have  you  already  seen  the  new 
one  ?  "  "Yes,  yes — passable,  passable." 

The  yellow  rose,  who  had  held  her  eyes 
cast  down,  now  made  a  low  courtesy,  and 
lifted  her  blushing  face.  In  her  neighbor- 
hood she  perceived  a  few  elderly  rose 
matrons,  who  nodded  to  her  kindly  and 
compassionately,  as  old  court  ladies  nod  to 
a  poor  young  debutante,  who  for  the  first 
time  puts  her  little  foot  upon  the  smooth 
parquet  of  the  court. 

But  beautiful  the  rose  matrons  were,  that 
she  must  confess,  and  beautiful  in  general 
were  all  the  roses.  So  one  thing  became 
clear  to  her  at  once,  that  she  was  no  longer 
the  only  one  of  her  kind,  but  one  among 
many  equals. 

What  was  very  noticeable  and  gave  the 
roses  an  especially  stately  air  were  the  small, 
neatly  wrought  tablets  which  every  one 
wore  around  her  neck,  and  upon  which  was 


■■V'   ■    ■^:^'v^v^:": 


W 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  15 

written  the  name,  pedigree  and  birthplace 
of  each  rose.  What  remarkable  things 
could  be  read  there !  Some  of  the  roses 
were  from  China,  others  from  Japan,  some 
from  the  East  Indies,  and  one  even  from  the 
island  of  Bourbon.  The  company  here  was 
indeed  most  select. 

Now  the  gardener  approached  with  the 
tablet  destined  for  the  new  rose ;  and,  while 
he  put  it  around  her  neck,  the  whispering 
and  rustling  stopped,  for  all  the  roses 
stretched  their  necks  in  breathless  suspense 
in  order  to  learn  who  and  what  the  new- 
comer might  be.  Scarcely  had  the  gardener 
stepped  back  when  the  noise  began  anew, 
much  louder  than  before,  and  very  ugly  and 
scornful.  For,  while  it  was  written  on  the 
tablet  that  she  came  from  good  aristocratic 
stock — as  otherwise  she  never  would  have 
been  admitted  there — still  the  birthplace, 
the  birthplace ! !  "  Born  in  this  town,"  was 
written  on  the  tablet;  and  one  can  easily 
imagine  what  an  air  the  roses  from  China, 
Japan,  the  East  Indies,  and  the  island 
of  Bourbon  gave  to  themselves.  And  like 
lightning  it  flew  from  one  to  another : 
"Just  think  of  it,  she  was  born  here,  simply 
a  native  of  this  town." 

Thereupon  one  of  the  proud  matronly 
roses  bent  towards  her  full  of  pity  and  said, 
"  You  poor  child,  what  a  cheerless,  unhappy 
childhood  you  must  have  had  quite  without 
society."    "  Oh,  no  indeed,"  replied  the  yel- 


16  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 

low  rose  quickly,  "  I  had  a  friend — a  white 
rose  with  whom  I  have  grown  up." 

At  which  remark  the  rose  matron  drew 
her  mouth  aside  and  said  quite  horrilied, 
"  But,  my  dear  child,  a  white  rose  ?  Pray 
do  not  say  that  aloud,  or  you  will  com- 
promise yourself."  And  another  rose  who 
feigned  not  to  have  heard  correctly  said 
aloud,  "You  have  had  a  friendship  with  a 
white  rose,  with  a  white  rose  indeed."  By 
this  time  the  poor  yellow  rose  began  to  feel 
quite  humiliated,  for  she  heard  them  all 
chuckling  and  repeating  the  words,  and  still 
was  unable  to  understand  what  was  amiss. 

But  her  first  questioner  turned  again  to 
her  and  said,  "  My  dear  child,  a  white  rose 
was  indeed  no  fit  company  for  you.  She 
must  have  been  something  quite  ordinary." 
Then  the  yellow  rose,  quite  overcome  with 
shame  because  she  understood  so  little  about 
the  aristocratic  world,  and  had  so  entirely 
misjudged  her  own  value,  answered  quits 
bashfully,  "  Well,  if  I  said  we  were  friends 
I  may  have  said  a  little  too  much."  "I 
thought  so  indeed,"  answered  her  new  ac- 
quaintance, "  that  person  has  doubtless 
thrust  herself  upon  you,  and  you  were  too 
kind  to  rebuke  her."  And,  as  the  yellow 
rose  saw  the  eyes  of  all  fixed  upon  her  in- 
terrogatingly, her  courage  left  her  and  she 
replied  quite  slowly,  "  Well,  yes,  that  may 
have  been  the  case." 

However,  scarcely  had  she  said  this  when 
the  wicked  words  fell   bitterly  upon  her 


'■S- 


M- 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  i1^ 

heart,  and  she  thought  of  her  poor  white 
rose  who  had  fared  so  badly  ;  and,  bending 
her  head  in  silence  so  that  she  saw  and 
heard  nothing  of  all  that  was  happening 
around  her,  she  wept  silently  into  her  trem- 
bling bosom. 

Meanwhile  the  shoemaker  continued  on 
his  way  home  with  the  white  rose,  whose 
violent  grief  gradually  turned  into  dull  help- 
less despair. 

Resistance  was  useless ;  this  she  had 
already  illustrated ;  therefore  she  submitted 
to  her  sad  fate  and  hung  her  beautiful  head 
in  deep  sadness. 

The  way  was  very  long  and  the  shoemaker 
had  not  enough  money  to  pay  for  a  cab,  so 
was  obliged  to  walk ;  the  father  going  ahead 
and  the  two  children  following  hand  in 
hand. 

As  they  came  into  the  city  where  the 
streets  became  more  and  more  hot  and  sultry, 
they  saw  that  the  rose  hung  down  her  head. 
The  little  boy  said,  "  Oh,  look  at  the  pooiv 
rose,  how  tired  she  looks.  She  must  be  too 
hot ; "  and  his  sister  rephed,  "  Certainly 
she  must  be  thirsty,  and  as  soon  as  we  are 
at  home  we  must  give  her  a  drink." 

Then  the  children  put  their  little  hands 
under  the  head  of  the  rose  that  it  might  not 
droop  too  low,  and  said,  "  Oh,  you  poor 
beautiful  dear  rose,  only  wait  until  we  get 
home." 

The  rose  allowed  this,  but  closed  her  eyes 
and  would  not  even  thank  the  children,  for 
2 


^^- 


18  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 

she  was  very  angry  with  them  as  she  consid- 
ered them  the  cause  of  all  her  misfortune. 

At  last,  when  it  was  quite  dark,  they 
arrived  at  the  house  of  the  poor  shoemaker. 
The  white  rose  opened  her  eyes  and  looked 
up.  The  street  was  very  pleasant,  and  the 
house  which  they  entered  had  quite  a  stately 
appearance ;  but,  when  they  had  reached 
the  vestibule  and  the  door  was  closed  behind 
them,  the  children  opened  a  side  door  and 
commenced  to  descend;  whereupon  the 
poor  rose  knew  that  henceforth  she  was  to 
live  in  a  basement,  for  the  shoemaker  was 
the  janitor  of  the  stately  house. 

A  home  in  a  cellar !  This  then  was  the 
fulfilment  of  her  dreams  about  the  future ! 
Once  more  despair  arose  in  her  heart,  and 
she  only  had  one  wish  more,  and  that  was 
that  she  might  die  very,  very  soon. 

But  the  children  had  already  rushed  down 
the  stairs,  and  their  voices  could  be  heard 
below  saying,  "  mother,  dear  mother,  only 
see  what  we  are  bringing  for  you."  On 
the  sofa  sat  a  pale  weak  woman,  and,  while 
the  children  crowded  around  her,  and  em- 
braced her,  the  poor  shoemaker  lifted  the 
rose  in  both  hands  and  showed  it  to  her 
without  speaking. 

Two  tears  appeared  in  the  woman's  wide- 
opened  eyes,  and  folding  her  hands  she 
looked  first  at  the  rose,  and  then  at  her 
husband,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  say 
whether  it  was  joy  over  the  magnificent 
fiower  or  that  she  silently  thanked  God  for 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  19 

having  given  her  so  kind  a  husband.  At 
last  she  said,  "  Oh,  how  splendid,  she  is  al- 
together too  beautiful  for  us  !  Now,  children, 
you  must  take  care  that  she  finds  a  good 
home  with  us." 

This  was  enough  for  the  children ;  they 
ran  away,  and  soon  returned  with  a  large 
flower-pot  filled  with  fine  soft  black  garden 
earth,  and  into  this  was  planted  the  white 
rose.  Then  they  placed  the  flower-pot  upon 
the  table,  and,  fetching  a  little  water- sprink- 
ler, gave  her  a  good  drink  of  water.  And, 
standing  there  upon  the  table  with  her 
head  hanging  down  in  deep  dejection,  she 
looked  like  a  princess  who  had  been  taken 
from  her  palace  and  brought  into  exile  in 
distant  lands. 

Then  the  children  had  their  supper,  each 
a  piece  of  bread  with  a  little  butter,  which 
seemed  quite  to  content  them  ;  for,  as  they 
sat  at  the  supper-table,  they  could  constant- 
ly view  their  new  treasure  and  nod  to  her 
gaily.  Soon  afterwards  they  all  went  to 
bed  ;  the  light  was  extinguished,  and  it  was 
dark,  silent  night.  Everybody  slept  except 
the  poor  white  rose.  In  the  midst  of  her 
conflicting  thoughts  sleep  was  impossible.     ^ 

But  suddenly  it  became  light ;  and  lo  !  it 
was  the  moon  who  was  looking  in  at  the 
window.  She  sent  a  bright  silvery  ray  down 
into  the  room  to  her  dear  white  rose  with 
whom  she  had  spoken  many  a  time  most 
lovingly ;  and  the  rose  rejoiced,  for  slie 
realized  that  still  she  was  not  quite  for- 


"-^^tt^Si 


■*aS8* 


/ 


20  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 

gotten,  and  bathed  herself  in  the  soft  white 
liglit. 

Was  it  the  charming  light  of  the  moon 
which  influenced  her  dreams  ?  for  it  seemed 
as  if  two  angels  were  stepping  into  the 
room — two  tiny,  charming  lovely  angels, 
who  glided  across  the  floor  with  their  long, 
blonde  hair  shining  in  the  moonlight. 
They  pushed  two  chairs  to  the  table  ;  and, 
climbing  upon  them,  they  reached  forward, 
and,  putting  their  little  faces  quite  close  to 
the  rose,  thej'  kissed  her  quite  softly  upon 
her  petals,  and  her  sweet  tender  calyx. 
And  the  rose,  quite  at  a  loss  to  explain  the 
sweet  dream,  trembled  with  joy,  and  silent- 
ly drank  in  the  breath  of  the  young  lips. 

Then  the  little  angols  jumped  down, 
pushed  back  the  chairs,  and  disappeared — 
but  whither?  There,  where  the  children 
had  disappeared  when  they  had  been  sent 
to  bed.  And  with  a  start  the  rose  thought, 
"Could  it  be  possible  that  tlie  two  whose 
appearance  had  been  so  lovely  to  her  that 
she  liad  taken  them  for  angels :  could  they 
infleed  have  been  the  two  children?" 

The  thought  spoiled  all  her  joy,  for  she 
was  determined  to  remain  very  angry  with 
the  children ;  still,  she  could  not  help  think- 
ing how  sweet  it  was  when  the  dear  young 
lips  had  kissed  her.  When  it  was  again 
day,  and  the  family  came  into  the  room,  she 
looked  up  at  the  children,  and  observed 
them  closely  for  the  first  time. 

She  now  saw  that  they  were  really  two 


"  j*'-  ' 


The  Tale  of  Two  Boses.  21 

charming  children,  with  blonde  curls,  large 
blue  eyes  and  lovely  smiling  faces.  There 
was  no  doubt  of  it — it  was  they  who  had 
risen  from  their  beds  during  the  night  in 
order  to  kiss  and  caress  their  beautiful  rose. 

After  breakfast  the  father  said,  "  This  is 
such  a  fine  day  we  must  put  our  rose  into 
the  garden."  So  the  children  took  the 
flower-pot  upstairs  into  the  small  garden  in 
front  of  the  house,  and  put  her  into  *the 
beautiful  warm  morning  sun.  From  her 
place  in  the  garden  she  was  able  to  look  in- 
to the  street  and  see  the  people  passing  to 
and  fro,  and  the  carriages  rolling  by ;  and, 
as  it  was  all  so  new  and  interesting  to  her, 
she  felt  very  comfortable  in  her  new  situa- 
tion. 

Directly  behind  her,  on  the  ground  floor, 
was  the  window  of  the  shoemaker's  lodg- 
ing ;  and,  at  the  wide  opened  window  he 
sat,  busily  working  at  his  boot  and  shoes. 
The  rose  contemplated  him  silently;  and, 
looking  beyond  him  into  the  room,  which 
was  now  brightened  by  the  rays  of  the 
morning  sun,  it  did  not  look  nearly  as  dark 
and  gloomy  as  on  the  evening  before,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  quite  tidy  and  attractive. 

At  this  moment,  the  children  with  books 
and  slates  came  out  of  the  house  on  their 
way  to  school ;  and,  as  they  passed  the 
fence,  they  put  their  faces  close  to  it  and 
nodding  to  the  rose,  said,  "  Good-bye,  dear 
rose,"  and  it  was  so  sweet  to  hear  that  even 
the  rose  must  admire  it. 


V^^^li^  ^ 


22  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses, 

"While  thinking  over  these  many  things 
she  heard  an  unknown  voice  which  said, 
"Good-morning,  Mrs.  Rose";  and,  turning 
around,  she  saw  a  little  canary  bird  hang- 
ing in  a  cage  at  the  open  window.  He  had 
bright  little  black  eyes,  and  a  small  yellow 
beak  with  which  he  said  again,  "Good- 
morning,  Mrs.  Rose ;  I  had  no  opportunity 
of  speaking  to  you  yesterday ;  allow  me 
to  introduce  myself — my  name  is  Piping." 
The  courteous  manner  of  the  canary 
pleased  the  rose,  and,  making  to  him  a 
friendly  bow,  she  began  a  conversation 
with  him  by  asking  how  long  he  had  been 
at  the  shoemaker's.  Whereupon  Mr. 
^Piping  sighed,  and  answered  that  he  was 
no  more  a  child,  for  he  was  already  one 
5'ear  and  two  days  old ;  day  before  yester- 
day his  birthday  had  been  celebrated,  but 
with  the  shoemaker  he  had  only  been  three 
months,  and  hoped  he  might  stay  with  him 
the  remainder  of  his  life. 

When  the  rose  asked  for  further  particu- 
lars as  to  why  he  liked  this  family  so  much, 
he  turned  his  little  black  eyes  in  his  head 
and  said  they  were  angelic  people,  especially 
the  children ;  and  then  he  became  so  deeply 
moved  that  he  had  quickly  to  take  a  drink 
of  water. 

As  the  sun  rose  higher,  the  flower  began 
to  feel  very  hot ;  but  just  then  the  children 
came  home  from  school,  and,  taking  the 
flower-pot,  they  carried  it  down  into  the 
cool  shady  room ;  and  this  they  did  from 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  23 

day  to  day,  always  eager  to  think  of  some- 
thing kind  and  good  for  their  beloved  rose. 

Amidst  all  this  care  and  attention  the 
heart  of  the  rose  suddenly  stirred  and  began 
to  bud,  and  a  sweet  mysterious  life  seemed 
to  throb  through  her  entire  body.  But 
when  the  bud  was  about  to  open — and  the 
eyes  of  the  entire  family  were  looking  for 
the  desired  moment — there  sprung  up  in 
her  heart  once  again  the  old  wicked  angry 
grudge.  She  did  not  wish  to  grant  them  so 
much  joy,  and  therefore  she  refused  ail 
nourishment  and  resisted  the  power  of 
nature  with  all  her  might;  and  lo !  the  bud 
withered,  the  blossom  did  not  come  out,  and 
the  hope  of  the  family  was  not  fulfilled. 

They  became  very  sad ;  and  the  owner  of 
the  house,  who  was  passing  at  that  moment 
and  noticed  their  grief,  said,  "Of  course  the 
beautiful  white  rose  could  not  thrive  and 
blossom  down  in  your  basement.  You  had 
better  sell  her  to  me  and  let  me  plant  her 
in  my  garden.  I  will  give  you  much  more 
than  you  paid  for  her."  But  the  shoe- 
maker answered,  "  Oh  !  no,  sir — indeed  all 
you  say  is  true,  but  we  love  her  very  much, 
and  when  we  look  at  her  we  feel  almost  as 
if  we  had  a  garden  of  our  own.  So  do  not 
take  it  amiss  if  we  will  not  part  with  her. 
I'll  keep  her  a  short  time  longer  and  per- 
haps she  will  bud  once  again ;  and  if  not, 
why  then  I'll  sell  her  to  you."  Whereupon 
the  landlord  went  away,  feeling  very  angry. 
.  The  rose,  hearing  this  conversation,  felt 


^'^  '■ 


24  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 

a  ray  of  happiness  entering  into  her  soul, 
for  now  there  was  a  hope  that  she  might 
escape  from  the  hated  life  in  the  basement. 
She  need  only  to  will  it,  and  she  could  have 
a  beautiful  life  in  the  garden  of  the  rich 
man.     So  she  resolved  to  act  accordingly. 

That  night,  when  everybody  slept  once 
again,  the  two  children  crept  slyly  into  the 
room  barefooted,  and  just  as  they  had 
jumped  out  of  their  beds,  looking  like  two 
little  angels.  But  this  time  they  did  not 
laugh  and  chuckle;  and,  as  the  moon 
lighted  up  their  faces,  they  appeared  very 
pale  and  sad. 

Again  they  pushed  two  chairs  to  the 
table,  and,  climbing  upon  them,  they 
reached  forward  and  kissed  the  rose. 
But,  as  they  did  so,  they  cried,  and  their 
tears  fell  down  into  the  heart  of  the  rose. 

"  Now  we  have  nothing  left,"  they  whis- 
pered. "  Now  we  have  neither  rose  nor  gar- 
den any  more ;  now  we  have  nothing." 
Arid  with  that  they  went  back  to  their  beds. 

When  they  had  gone  the  rose  closed  her 
eyes  and  tried  to  sleep  ;  but  it  was  impos- 
sible. Something  burned  and  glowed  in  her 
heart;  it  was  the  tears  of  the  children 
which  had  fallen  there.  Early  the  follow- 
ing morning  there  came  a  knock  at  the  win- 
dow, and  who  should  fly  in  but  her  old 
friend,  Mr.  Morning  Wind.  The  rose  had 
not  seen  him  since  she  had  left  the  garden, 
therefore  she  was  much  pleased  at  his 
visit.     He  went  up  and  down  the  room  in 


€■ 


The  Tale  of  Two  Moses, 

great  haste,  blowing  the  dust  from  the 
table  and  the  rest  of  the  furniture,  and  one 
could  see  that  he  was  indeed  greatly  ex- 
cited. "  I  have  just  come  from  your  sister, 
the  yellow  rose,"  at  length  he  said.  The 
white  rose  at  once  became  very  anxious  to 
learn  how  she  was ;  but  the  Morning  Wind, 
who  generally  was  a  very  gay  young  fellow, 
grew  quite  serious  and  said,  "  Oh,  it  is  a  sad 
story.  It  fares  but  badly  with  her.  The  tea 
roses,  among  whom  she  stands  quite  lonely, 
are  very  angry  and  cross  with  her,  and  all  her 
grandeur  will  soon  come  to  an  end^"  "  How 
do  you  know  that  ?  "  asked  the  rose.  "  Oh, 
do  you  know  what  whims  are  ?  "  asked  the 
Morning  Wind.  "  No,"  answered  the  rose. 
"Well,"  continued  the  Morning  Wind, 
"they  are  small  black  beetles  which  are 
very  expensive,  and  are  therefore  kept 
mostly  by  rich  people.  They  play  with 
them  in  order  to  kill  time.  They  let  them 
fly  about  the  room,  and  then  catch  them 
and  place  them  upon  their  heads."  "  How 
strange  ?  "  said  the  rose.  "  Indeed — but  what 
of  that  ?  It  is  the  fashion,"  remarked  the 
Morning  Wind.  "  The  banker's  wife,  in 
order  to  show  that  she  is  the  richest  lady  in 
the  town,  keeps,  as  you  may  think,  quite  a 
number  of  these  bugs ;  and  every  day  she 
needs  at  least  one,  but  sometimes  two  or 
three,  and  she  puts  them  on  her  head  and 
lets  them  sit  there  until  they  scratch  and 
bite  her  with  their  sharp  claws  and  teeth, 
and  then  she  cries  until  her  husband  comes 


C 


26  The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 

and  takes  them  away  and  throws  them  out 
of  the  window.  And  with  this  play  they 
pass  their  time  every  day." 

"Now  you  must  know  further  that  when 
these  bugs  sit  on  their  heads,  people  have 
very  curious  thoughts  and  imaginations ; 
and  thus  it  has  suddenly  occurred  to  the 
banker's  wife  that  she  had  become  tired  of 
her  beautiful  collection  of  tea  roses,  and  she 
wishes  to  plant  camellias  in  their  places.  So, 
when  autumn  comes,  that  will  be  done,  and 
the  poor  roses  will  be  torn  from  the  ground." 
^"What  then  will  be  done  with  them?" 
anxiously  interrupted  the  white  rose. 
"  They  will  be  thrown  away,"  answered  the 
Morning  Wind,  "  and  your  poor  sister,  the 
yellow  rose,  with  them.  Do  you  now  un- 
derstand why  I  am  so  sad?  Yes,  yes," 
he  continued,  as  he  saw  that  the  white  rose 
stood  very  silent,  "  you  have  found  a  much 
better  place  where  you  are  attended  to  and 
well  cared  for.  Here  there  are  no  black  bugs 
of  which  you  need  be  afraid  ;  "  and  there- 
with he  sighed  again,  took  up  his  coat-tails, 
and  flew  away  through  the  window. 

The  white  rose  was  still  quite  speechless  ; 
and,  long  after  the  Morning  Wind  had  flown 
away,  she  pondered  over  his  words,  "  You 
have  found  a  better  place,"  and  suddenly 
her  heart  began  to  tlirob  and  burn,  and, 
lookihg  in,  she  saw  that  a  deep  feeling  of 
shame  had  taken  possession  of  her.  Yes, 
the  rose  was  ashamed;  and,  as  she  gazed 
into  her  heart,  the  shame  looked  up  to  her 


The  Tale  of  Ttvo  Roses.  W' 

and  said,  "You  ungrateful  thing;"  and, 
when  the  shoemaker's  family  came  in,  and 
she  saw  the  sad  faces  of  the  children,  she 
read  again  in  their  eyes  the  word  ungrate- 
ful. From  that  moment  the  rose  felt  a  sen- 
sation as  though  thus  far  she  had  been 
sleeping  and  suddenly  had  awakened ;  and 
that  day,  when  the  children  carried  her  out 
into  the  front  garden,  she  drank  deeply  of 
the  cool  pure  water,  which  they  gave  her, 
and  ate  of  the  fine  black  garden  earth,  so 
that  Mr.  Piping  sang  out  to  her,  "Good 
appetite,  Mrs.  Rose,  good  appetite." 

Thereupon  the  rose  felt  her  sap  rise  and 
throb  within  like  liquid  fire;  and  scarcely 
had  two  days  passed  before  she  began  again 
to  sprout,  and  one  bud  came  out  quite  bash- 
fully. When  the  children,  who  had 
watched  her  constantly,  saw  this,  they  ran 
breathlessly  to  their  parents  and  called  for 
them  to  come  out  and  see  it.  Meanwhile 
the  rose  smiled  within  in  silent  joy,  and  lo ! 
a  second  bud  broke  forth,  and  then  a  third, 
as  if  the  rose  would  never  tire  with  the 
pleasure  of  giving.  And,  as  one  morning 
the  poor  shoemaker,  with  his  pale  wife, 
and  pretty  children,  stepped  over  the  thresh- 
old, they  all  stopped  short  as  if  charmed  by 
a  wonderful  sight;  for,  on  the  table,  they 
saw  the  beauiful  rose,  bending  with  moth- 
erly joy  over  two  small  snow-white  rosebuds 
which  had  blossomed  out  during  the  night. 

And  the  rose  bent  and  nodded,  and  from 
her  whispering  lips  issued  a  sweet  fragrance, 


"  t 'iSS-iT 


28 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 


which  changed  the  dwelling  of  the  poor 
people  to  a  paradise  ;  and,  if  they  had  under- 
stood the  language  of  the  flowers,  they 
would  have  heard  the  rose  say,  "It  is  in 
return  for  your  love,  in  gratitude  for  your 
kindness." 

Through  the  whole  house  sounded  the 
jubilant  cries  of  the  two  cl\ildren.  Every 
one  who  lived  in  the  house  came  to  see  the 
flower ;  and,  as  that  day  the  family  of  roses 
was  taken  into  the  front  garden,  all  the 
passers-by  stopped  in  the  street  to  look  at 
her ;  and  the  white  rose  celebrated  the 
great  triumph  of  superior  beauty. 

Everybody  rejoiced  except  the  landlord — 
the  thought  that  the  poor  shoemaker  had 
dared  to  refuse  his  otter  for  the  rosebush  so 
enraged  him  that  he  longed  for  revenge.  He 
daily  grew  more  and  more  disagreeable  and 
exacting ;  and,  when  autumn  drew  near,  the 
entire  family  sat  around  with  careworn  faces, 
and  tearful  eyes,  for  the  landlord  had  dis- 
charged the  father  and  they  were  homeless. 

Then  a  deep  cutting  reproach  went  through 
the  soul  of  the  rose,  for  she  felt  that  she 
alone  was  to  blame  for  all  this  misfortune. 
That  night  she  again  had  a  dream,  but  not 
a  lovely,  fantastic  one  as  at  other  times,  but 
a  dark  horrible  apparition  which  came  in 
with  sulking  step  and  walked  towards  the 
spot  whei'e  the  children  lay  in  their  little 
beds.  Never  had  the  rose  seen  anything  so 
dreadful;  never  had  slie  heard  anything 
more    horrible    than   the    hoarse    whisper 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses.  29 

which  came  from  its  ugly  toothless  mouth ; 
and,  as  the  rose  saw  it  step  up  to  the  beds, 
she  was  speechless  with  fear. 

A  strange  pale  yellow  light  spread  about 
this  form ;  and,  by  the  glimmer  of  this  light, 
the  rose  saw  the  horrible  form  bend  over 
the  children  and  stretch  out  its  withered 
hands  over  their  heads ;  and,  as  it  did  so, 
the  sweet  rosy  little  faces  became  distorted 
in  bitter  anguish,  and  looked  quite  thin  and 
hollow. 

At  this  an  inexpressible  anxiety  came  over 
her;  and,  lifting  her  head  to  Heaven,  she 
whispered,  "  Save  them  !  Save  my  poor 
innocent  little  darlings ; "  and  from  her 
trembling  lips  the  perfume  floated  through 
the  room  like  clouds,  and  wafted  as  far 
as  to  the  sleeping  children.  Then  the 
horrible  form  came  out  and  said  to  the  rose, 
"Do  not  smell  so  sweet,  you  have  no 
longer  any  power  here.  Here  I  am  ruler, 
and  my  name  is  Hunger,  Hunger,  Hunger !  " 
But  the  rose  cried  once  again  more  fervently 
to  Heaven  and  said,  "  Let  me  repay  to  these 
poor  people  all  the  love  which  they  have 
shown  to  me.  Let  me  repay  it  to  them  in 
what  they  consider  their  best  and  most 
beloved — their  children."  , 

More  powerful,  more  intoxicating  still, 
grew  her  beautiful  fragrance ;  more  and  more 
enraged  the  glances  which  were  cast  upon 
her  by  the  dreadful  monster  Hunger,  but 
to  no  purpose.  He  could  not  overpower 
her  perfume — he  could  not  return  to  the 


.i48.#-- 


■  ■s^raR''*  ■  -'        ■       "  -     •  .'».-»^,:v. 


30  The  Tale  of  Tivo  Roses. 

children's  bed,  for  the  sweet  fragrance  of 
the  rose  hung  like  a  veil  between  him  and 
them ;  and,  suddenly  turning,  he  fled,  over- 
powered by  its  intensity. 

A  few  days  later  the  shoemaker  returned 
home  with  a  joyful  countenance.  His  daily 
search  for  a  position  had  ended  favorably, 
and  he  had  obtained  a  situation  in  the  house 
of  the  richest  banker  in  the  town.  The 
white  rose  listened  most  attentively  as  he 
told  the  good  news :  "  the  richest  banker  in 
the  town,"  sounded  most  familiar  to  her, 
and  yet  she  could  not  tell  why.  Still,  within 
her  heart  she  felt  a  presentiment,  as  if  the 
sacrifice  of  her  sweet  perfume  had  not  been  in 
vain,  and  her  wish  was  about  to  be  fulfilled. 

It  was  a  most  magnificent  house  into 
which  the  shoemaker's  family  now  moved, 
and  its  owner  was  very,  very  wealthy. 

"  Just  imagine,"  said  the  father  one  day, 
as  he  came  into  the  room  to  join  his  family, 
"how  rich  our  employers  are.  The  lady 
of  the  house  has  had  torn  up  and  thrown 
away  all  her  beautiful  rose-bushes  which 
cost  many  thousands  of  dollars,  in  order 
that  she  may  plant  camellias  in  their  place ; 
and  see,  the  gardener  has  given  me  one  of 
the  beautiful  roses,  as  he  says  it  is  too  sick 
ever  to  amount  to  much."  Whereupon  he 
drew  forth  from  the  paper  in  his  hand,  a 
yellow  rose.  The  white  rose  felt  as  though 
struck  by  lightning ;  for,  behold  !  it  was  the 
friend  of  her  youth,  her  sister,  the  beautiful 
yellow  rose. 


The  Tale  of  Two  Roses. 


31 


J 


The  recognition  was  indeed  mutual ;  but 
the  yellow  rose  could  only  give  a  languid 
sad  smile,  for  she  had"  grown  very  weak 
and  sick  from  the  cruel  treatment  which 
she  had  received. 

When  the  children  had  put  her  into  a 
flower-pot,  and  placed  her  by  the  side  of  the 
white  rose,  she  saw  her  sister  in  all  the 
assurance  of  love  and  happiness,  and  once 
more  she  put  forth  her  tired  arms  around  her 
sister,  and  their  faces  rested  cheek  to  cheek. 

Then  said  the  yellow  rose,  "  Formerly  you 
called  me  happy  and  envied  my  fate ;  that 
was  when  we  started  out  on  our  careers ; 
to-day  I  call  you  happy  and  envy  you — and 
this  is  at  the  end  of  life,  therefore  my  opin- 
ion has  more  weight  than  thine.  And,  since 
I  must  soon  leave  you  and  depart  from  the 
earth  which  promised  me  so  much  and  ful- 
filled so  little,  I  beg  of  you  to  hear  my 
advice,  and  take  all  that  happiness  which 
comes  to  you,  for  you  have  desired  it." 
Having  thus  spoken  the  yellow  rose  drooped 
her  beautiful  head ;  and,  when  the  children 
came  in  the  next  day,  they  said  sadly, 
"  Alas  !  the  yellow  rose  is  dead." 

And  the  little  girl  clasping  her  brother's 
hand  said  in  a  low  whisper,  "  Oh,  only  see 
how  deeply  our  rose  grieves  about  it ;  she 
has  been  weeping ;  "  wliich  was  indeed  true, 
for  the  tears  glistened  in  her  calyx. 

But  then  something  very  strange  hap- 
pened. The  boy's  eyes  grew  large  and  full 
of  light  as  never  before  ;  he  looked  silently 


\ 


I 


* 


'    •      The  Tale  of  Two  Roses,    *i  vr  ;^ 

and  intently  at  the  white  rose  as  if  seeing 
her -for  the  first  time ;  and,  taking  his  slate, 
without  speaking  or  relinquishing  his  gaze, 
he  began  to  draw.  The  little  sister  watched 
him  closely  and  followed  his  every  move- 
ment, both  of  them  in  their  interest  forget- 
ting breakfast  and  everything. 

At  length,  when  school  time  came,  he  put 
his  slate  into  his  bag  so  that  no  one  could 
see  what  he  had  drawn  or  know  what  a 
deep,  treasured  secret  he  carried  with  him. 

Two  days  afterwards,  as  the  father  sat 
with    his    wife,   he    said    slowly,    "Mary, 
Anthony's  teacher  spoke  to  me  to-day,  and 
I  said  we  ought  to  watch  our  son  very  care- 

L"4  fully;  for  the  other  day  he  saw  one  of  his 

"^  drawings,  a  rose,  which  was  most  beautiful, 

and  he  believed  our  Anthony  may  one  day 
I    i-         :;     '  become  a  great  and  famous  painter.    What 

t     .■  do  you  think  of  that  ? "     But  the  wife  said 

\     %        'i''         :     nothing:  only  her  eyes  became  larger  and 
\    ifi:-       '•  :  larger,  as  though  gazing  into  futurity. 

"^  The  shoemaker  had  spoken  in  a  very  low 

-  voice,  so  that  no  one  could  hear  him  when 

■-         telling  this  deep,  sacred  secret  which  seemed 

i  *'''        almost  too  good  to  be  true.     But  somebody 

'  had  heard  him;  it  was  the  white  rose ;  and 

a  feeling  went  through  her  heart  that  at 
last  -hfer  -.  prayers  had  been  answered,  and 
the  sacrifice  of  her  sweet  perfume  had  been 
i  ;.v  accepted. 

^  >  But  you  would  like  to  know  what  became 
of  little  Anthony?  Well  I  may  tell  you 
ttiat  another  time.  ,    ^a.  c,;.  .,        .   li^ 


M".-;': 


THE  vmm  Of  Tffi 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILUNOIS 


■i         "■ 


